Wild boars pose problem in radiation-hit Fukushima

A wild boar is seen at a residential area in an evacuation zone in Namie (Reuters)

Wild boars have taken over deserted Japanese towns evacuated following the Fukushima nuclear disaster six years ago.

Hunters have been rounding up and shooting hundreds of the animals, which have swarmed places like the coastal town of Namie for food since residents were forced to flee after the magnitude 9 quake in March 2011.

While enraged, the boars have been known to attack the few people who remain in the area.

It is causing concern for any chances of re-population of the town, around 4km from the destroyed nuclear plant, which has been partially cleared to inhabit by the end of the month.

However, more than half of Namie's 21,500 residents have opted not to go back with concerns remaining about radiation and the plant's safety, according to a government survey.

Even the town's mayor, Tamotsu Baba, wasn't sure who was in control.

"It is not really clear now which is the master of the town, people or wild boars," he told Reuters.

He warned that if humans didn't re-take control, things could get "even wilder and uninhabitable".

In nearby Tomioka, a team of 14 have been tasked with ridding the area with boars using their air rifles.

Trapped boars in the town of Tomioka as an animal control hunter approaches (Reuters)

Twice a week around 30 cages are set up baited with rice flour to lure the animals.

Leader of the pack Shoichiro Sakamoto says the boars took advantage of the evacuation and have made themselves at home after coming down from the mountains.

A boar becomes ensnared in a trap near Tomioka (Reuters)

"They found a place that was comfortable. There was plenty of food and no one to come after them."

Since April last year, the kill squad has captured around 300 boars, with the work set to continue well after the evacuation orders are lifted.

Tomioka animal control hunters document their kills (Reuters)

Meanwhile, a team of doctors from the Fukushima Medical University say 185 cases of malignant or suspected thyroid cancer in the region's children following the nuclear disaster can't be linked to radiation, the Associated Press reports.

They say the biggest health concern for evacuees is stress and changing lifestyles which have seen an increase in obesity and diabetes which, in turn, increases the risk of stroke and heart problems.

The number of thyroid cases is high because of the blanket screening process, not radiation, they claim.

"The survey has caused over-diagnosis," says Akira Ohtsuru, a university expert on radiation and thyroid ultrasound examination.